MOHAMMAD IBN ZAKARIYA AL-RAZI

(864-930 C.E.)

Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (864-930 C.E.) was born at Ray, Iran.
Initially, he was interested in music but later on he learnt medicine,
mathematics, astronomy, chemistry and philosophy from a student of Hunayn Ibn
Ishaq, who was well versed in the ancient Greek, Persian and Indian systems of
medicine and other subjects. He also studied under Ali Ibn Rabban. The practical
experience gained at the well-known Muqtadari Hospital helped him in his chosen
profession of medicine. At an early age he gained eminence as an expert in
medicine and alchemy, so that patients and students flocked to him from distant
parts of Asia.

He was first placed in-charge of the first Royal Hospital at Ray, from where
he soon moved to a similar position in Baghdad where he remained the head of its
famous Muqtadari Hospital for along time. He moved from time to time to various
cities, specially between Ray and Baghdad, but finally returned to Ray, where he
died around 930 C.E. His name is commemorated in the Razi Institute near
Tehran.

Razi was a Hakim, an alchemist and a philosopher. In medicine, his
contribution was so significant that it can only be compared to that of Ibn
Sina. Some of his works in medicine e.g. Kitab al- Mansoori,
Al-Hawi, Kitab al-Mulooki and Kitab al-Judari wa al-
Hasabah earned everlasting fame. Kitab al-Mansoori, which was
translated into Latin in the 15th century C.E., comprised ten volumes and dealt
exhaustively with Greco-Arab medicine. Some of its volumes were published
separately in Europe. His al-Judari wal Hasabah was the first treatise on
smallpox and chicken-pox, and is largely based on Razi's original contribution:
It was translated into various European languages. Through this treatise he
became the first to draw clear comparisons between smallpox and chicken-pox.
Al-Hawi was the largest medical encyclopedia composed by then. It
contained on each medical subject all important information that was available
from Greek and Arab sources, and this was concluded by him by giving his own
remarks based on his experience and views. A special feature of his medical
system was that he greatly favored cure through correct and regulated food.
This was combined with his emphasis on the influence of psychological factors on
health. He also tried proposed remedies first on animals in order to evaluate in
their effects and side effects. He was also an expert surgeon and was the first
to use opium for anesthesia.

In addition to being a physician, he compounded medicines and, in his later
years, gave himself over to experimental and theoretical sciences. It seems
possible that he developed his chemistry independently of Jabir Ibn Hayyan. He has
portrayed in great detail several chemical reactions and also given full
descriptions of and designs for about twenty instruments used in chemical
investigations. His description of chemical knowledge is in plain and plausible
language. One of his books called Kitab-al-Asrar deals with the
preparation of chemical materials and their utilization. Another one was
translated into Latin under the name Liber Experi- mentorum, He went
beyond his predecessors in dividing substances into plants, animals and
minerals, thus in a way opening the way for inorganic and organic chemistry. By
and large, this classification of the three kingdoms still holds. As a chemist,
he was the first to produce sulfuric acid together with some other acids, and he
also prepared alcohol by fermenting sweet products.

His contribution as a philosopher is also well known. The basic elements in
his philosophical system are the creator, spirit, matter, space and time. He
discusses their characteristics in detail and his concepts of space and time as
constituting a continuum are outstanding. His philosophical views were, however,
criticized by a number of other Muslim scholars of the era.

He was a prolific author, who has left monumental treatises on numerous
subjects. He has more than 200 outstanding scientific contributions to his
credit, out of which about half deal with medicine and 21 concern alchemy. He
also wrote on physics, mathematics, astronomy and optics, but these writings
could not be preserved. A number of his books, including Jami-fi-al-Tib,
Mansoori, al-Hawi, Kitab al-Jadari wa al-Hasabah,
al-Malooki, Maqalah fi al- Hasat fi Kuli wa al-Mathana, Kitab
al-Qalb, Kitab al-Mafasil, Kitab-al- 'Ilaj al-Ghoraba, Bar
al-Sa'ah, and al-Taqseem wa al-Takhsir, have been published in
various European languages. About 40 of his manuscripts are still extant in the
museums and libraries of Iran, Paris, Britain, Rampur, and Bankipur. His
contribution has greatly influenced the development of science, in general, and
medicine, in particular.